


Zimbits May/June Updates

by forabeatofadrum (maanorchidee)



Series: Zimbits Updates [14]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, M/M, Reunions, Wedding Rings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-16 15:13:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19320712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maanorchidee/pseuds/forabeatofadrum
Summary: The latest updates for the Zimbits Updates caUSE THE COMIC IS BACK BABY.





	1. Card

**Author's Note:**

> It is morning June 21st, 2019. I know that Check, Please! is going to update today, but since it always updates after midnight in my time zone, I’m chill. I want to write Zimbits Updates fics for this update, but also for Coach I that dropped end May. 
> 
> I have time.
> 
> Fast forward to 18:00 that day. I am in a restaurant and I read on plurk that the update has dropped and that it’s sad. Well, goddamnit.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bitty finds a debit card with a familiar name on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this took a direction that I did not expect.

Bitty is staring at the debit card in his hands. It’s not his. He found it on his way to work. It was just lying there on the pavement.

_J.L. Zimmermann_

How big are the odds that Bitty is holding a lost debit card with the name J.L. Zimmermann on it. Surely, Bitty can’t be a 100% certain that this is his Jack Zimmermann, his ex-boyfriend, but the L. indicating a middle name is too big of a coincidence.

But Bitty doesn’t have time to dwell on it. He has to go to work, but when he’s there, he’s gonna find the rightful owner of this debit card so that Bitty can return it.

And sure, there’s a chance that the rightful owner is his ex, but hey, life sucks. But why would Jack even be here in Boston? Bitty still keeps up with Jack’s career. He knows that Jack isn’t playing in Boston right now. In fact, he should be in San Jose. Chowder is torn between cheering for the Falconers or for the Sharks.

Still, this name… it’s too big of a coincidence. The  _J._  and the  _L._  and the  _Zimmermann_?

Luckily for Bitty, he has access to a computer on the job. Being the social media expert for a bakery chain has its perks. 

The first thing Bitty does is Googling the Falconers. 

Yes, they’re currently playing against the Sharks. Bitty lets out a small sigh of relief. There’s no way that this card belongs to Jack.

His feeling of relief changes to a feeling of sadness.

Bitty shakes his head. No, no, no. He’s not sad about not seeing Jack. Jack’s the one who lost touch with basically everyone in Samwell. Bitty shouldn’t want to see him.

But the feeling lingers.

Bitty’s about to continue his search for J.L. Zimmermann when a small headline catches his eyes.

**Jack Zimmermann #1 doesn’t play for the weekend**

Bitty clicks on the headline before he can stop himself and he skims the article. Apparently, Jack had to leave last minute due to a family emergency.

That doesn’t mean anything, though. Jack has no family in Boston and there are probably no connecting flights from San Jose to Boston to Montreal.

Then it hits him.

Jack does have family here.

Bitty grabs for his phone and he dials. After three rings, Lardo picks up.

“Bits?”

“Is Shitty okay?” Bitty blurts out.

There’s a small beat of silence before Lardo asks: “How did you know?”

“I don’t know anything, Lards,” Bitty says, “So something did happen?”

“We… we haven’t told anyone yet? We’re- it all happened to fast and there’s all this stress. I’m sorry. We were going to tell you! And the rest of the team!”

“Lardo, what is going on?” Bitty yells out and some of his colleagues do not look pleased.

“Shits got ambushed yesterday evening while he was on his way home,” Lardo says quickly and she starts crying, “They hurt him real bad. He’s in the hospital now. He just woke up.”

“Oh my God, is he okay?” Bitty asks.

To his surprise, Lardo laughs through the tears. “Bits, when he woke up, he immediately started talking about this situation in relation to white, male privilege, so I think he’ll be fine. We’re all just a bit in shock. We were going to put it on the groupschat today, but as you can imagine-”

“No, no, I fully understand!” Bitty says, “Good to hear that Shitty’s already on his feminist rant.”

“How did you know something was wrong?”

Bitty thinks about the debit card in his pocket. It’s a real long shot, especially since Bitty knows that Jack and Shitty haven’t talked in a while either. If he’s wrong, he’s going to sound really stupid.

“Jack is sitting out a play because of a family emergency.”

Silence.

Bitty’s about to apologise for such a stupid suggestion when Lardo says: “Yes, he’s here.”

“How?”

Lardo snorts. “Jack’s still Shitty’s second emergency number. The paramedics on sight couldn’t contact me, because I was in a class, so they called the second. Shitty never changed it, or maybe he just didn’t want it to change. You can imagine the shock on my face when I saw that I had a couple of missed calls from Jack fucking Zimmermann. The guy fucks off for a couple of years, and suddenly he’s calling me.”

Lardo sounds a bit bitter.

“Called from the airport. Told me that Shits’s in the hospital and that he’s on his way. He arrived a little after midnight and now he’s out to get us food. It’s been a weird couple of hours. How on Earth did you know that Jack’s family emergency is here?”

“I found his debit card on the ground.”

Lardo snorts. “Shit, really?”

Bitty laughs too. The situation is too absurd for words.

“I’ll come return it during my break, okay? Are visits allowed?”

“Shitty’s pretty banged up, but he’s fine and he’ll appreciate it.”

“I’ll see you then.”

* * *

 

Bitty hears laughing.

Lardo and Jack are laughing.

The elevator doors open and Bitty can see Lardo and Jack sitting on those terrible plastic hospital chairs  _and they’re laughing_.

It’s like old times.

Lardo is the one who sees him watching.

“Bitty!” she calls him.

Jack’s laugh drops.

“Lards,” Bitty pulls her into a hug.

Jack has stood up and he’s standing awkwardly besides them. 

“Bittle,” he says and nods.

Bitty nods back. Is he supposed to hug him? Or give him a firm handshake? Or is nodding back sufficient enough?

“No worries, the awkwardness goes away,” Lardo says.

“After yelling,” Jack sighs.

“After I was done yelling at him for going AWOL out of nowhere,” Lardo nods as a confirmation, “There were tears.”

“I got your card,” Bitty says and he hands Jack his lost debit card.

“Haha, yes, oops,” Jack says awkwardly, “Must’ve lost it when I was looking for food. When I got back, Lardo told me that I’d lost it.”

“Yeah.”

There’s an uncomfortable silence. Lardo rolls her eyes and she coughs loudly.

“I’m going to see if Shitty’s awake. You two fight it out.”

She leaves them alone and it’s the first time they’re alone since the break up.

“You look nice,” Jack says awkwardly.

“Thanks.”

“You do.”

“I know. Thank you.”

“I assume that guys are lining up for you, eh?” Jack jokes, but it’s even more awkward.

“Jack.”

“Sorry. Too soon.”

“Besides, the guys aren’t good enough,” Bitty sighs.  _They weren’t you_ , he adds bitterly. Bitty’s somehow held out for Jack, but now that he’s actually here, it’s weird.

Bitty’s always dreamed of some over-the-top romantic reunion, but now they’re standing in a bleak hospital corridor and Bitty’s not feeling as hopeful and he expected.

“Right.”

Bitty looks away and sits down. These chairs really are uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry for, uhm, as Lardo put it, going AWOL out of nowhere.”

“It wasn’t out of nowhere for me,” Bitty reminds him. And it’s true. The others still don’t fully know why they broke up. They don’t know that they had a huge fight about their relationship. Bitty did not want to be seen as Jack’s boyfriend all the time. Jack didn’t understand, since Jack took care of him. But that’s not what Bitty wanted.

So they fought.

And Bitty walked out.

And Jack stopped talking to everyone.

Bitty doesn’t fully regret it, since now he has a great career of his own in a city that he loves, but he does regret not waiting for them to talk it out. He never wanted to break up, but back then, it felt like the only option. But when Bitty tried to reach out, Jack had gone AWOL, as Lardo puts it.

“I never-” Jack sits down as well and he looks at the floor.

“You never what?”

“I never should’ve let you go,” he says sadly, “I miss you.”

Bitty’s been waiting to hear those words for years, but not in this setting. He leans back and he waits for Jack to continue.

“When you left, I was so angry. I couldn’t understand why you’d leave me. But now I do and I feel so incredibly stupid for not understanding.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think you’d want me to.”

“Well, I did.”

Jack looks up from the floor in shock. “You did?”

“In fact, I tried to reach you, but you were gone. You didn’t answer anyone’s messages. No one was able to reach you, Jack. I almost called your parents, but I thought that’d be a bit overkill. It took a lost debit card for me to find you again!”

Jack blinks a couple of time. He seems stunned.

Bitty tries to slow his breathing. He hadn’t even noticed that he was getting worked up.

“I fucked up.”

“Yes,” Bitty says, “You did.”

“If I hadn’t lost my debit card, we wouldn’t have talked.”

“Well, maybe Shitty would’ve dragged you along,” Bitty shrugs.

Jack laughs slightly. “Shits was convinced he was high when he saw me. I don’t blame him. It took an emergency phone call to make me realise that I should’ve kept in touch.”

“And it took a lost debit card for you to talk to me,” Bitty reminds him.

“Sorry. I can imagine that you don’t want anything to do with me anymore,” Jack says sadly and Bitty frowns, “After Shitty’s out of the hospital, I’ll be out of your hair.”

Bitty punches his shoulder.

“What was that for?”

“Did you not listen?” Bitty’s frown deepens, “I did not want to lose contact either. I feel so stupid for walking out on an impulse.”

“You…” Jack trails off.

“Look, I’m happy. I love my job. My friends are here, but I miss you too.”

Jack looks surprised, but then his expression shifts to something hopeful. “You do?”

“Yeah. When I first thought that the card belonged to a different J.L. Zimmermann, I got sad at the idea of not seeing you,” Bitty admits.

“Luckily, I’m J.L. Zimmermann.”

“Look, I think we need to talk and think this through, because I don’t think we can just continue where we left.”

Jack hums in agreement.

“But if you agree, I’d like to at least try.”

“I’d like that.”

They fall silent once again, but this time, it isn’t awkward. Bitty feels strangely hopeful as well. This is not the reunion he always dreamed of, but it’s a start.

A door opens.

Lardo peeks her head out.

“Oh, you two seem okay. Shits is awake and he’d love to see Bitty,” she says.

They follow Lardo inside and Bitty tries not to gasp when he sees Shitty. Shitty doesn’t seem to mind, though. He smiles widely and he spreads his arms.

“My brahs!” he says happily.

“You’re way too cheerful for someone who got ambushed, Shits,” Jack says.

“You two are here, you dumb fuck. I can’t not be cheerful,” Shitty says as if it’s obvious, “M’Dude, I’m so glad I never changed my second emergency contact. I mean, not that I ever wanted to give anyone a reason to use it, but shit, it worked out well. How’d Bitty know that I’m stuck here, though?”

“It’s a weird story involving a lost debit card,” Bitty says.

“Huh, you have to tell me that,” Shitty says and he moves around in the bed to make place for someone to join him, “Come on, Jack, like old times.”

Jack snorts, but he climbs into the bed next to Shitty and he starts telling him the story of how he lost his debit card this morning.

Lardo and Bitty watch the two, talking as if nothing ever happened.

“This feels right,” Lardo whispers.

Yes, it does.


	2. Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bitty's bought a small ring box. Now he needs to find a good hiding place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take a look inside, it’s my d-
> 
> No. It’s not gonna be that kind of story.

The little box feels very heavy in Bitty’s pocket, which is silly, since this little box with a ring isn’t heavy at all. He thanks the jeweler for his help and he makes his way back home.

Bitty knows that he wants to marry Jack, but now it feels more official. Now, he has a ring and he’s in a desperate need to find a good hiding spot for this box. Luckily, he has time. Jack said he’d be home at six, so Bitty has a little over an hou to hide the box.

Back home, Bitty goes to work. Sock drawers are overrated. His special baking cabinet might be risky, since Bitty has the tendency to take out his supplies without grace. It doesn’t fit underneath the rug in the living room, since it’ll show a weird bump. Underneath the cushions is annoying, since he doesn’t want anyone to crush the box. 

Then he has an epiphany.

 _Sock drawers are overrated!_ No one expects hidden things in sock drawers anymore.

Bitty thinks it’s genius and he rushes towards their bedroom. He opens the sock drawer. 

“Perfect,” he says to himself when he sees how unorganised it is. Jack and Bitty are relatively tidy, but a sock drawer is basically a different dimension. Bitty can definitely hide a small ring box in this messy drawer.

Bitty takes the box out of his pocket and he places it on top of all the socks. Then he starts rummaging all the socks, so that the box gets lost in all these damn socks.

But while he’s rummaging through the sock drawer, he feels something solid. Confused, he pulls out one sock. There’s clearly something hidden in the sock. Since Bitty’s pretty sure he didn’t put anything in there, he reaches for whatever is hidden in the sock.

Bitty drops the sock and the small box that was in that sock in shock.

It’s a small ring box, almost identical to the one that Bitty has just hidden away.

This can’t be happening.

After a small moment of hesitation, Bitty opens the box and he almost drops it again when he sees an engagement ring inside.

“Bud?”

Bitty looks around and he sees Jack watching him with wide eyes. He puts his sports bag aside.

“You’re home early,” Bitty says.

Jack’s eyes are on the box with the ring. He seems a bit loss for words.

Bitty follows his gaze. “You bought an engagement ring. You hid it in our sock drawer.”

“Uhm. Surprise?” Jack says awkwardly.

“You  _hid_ it in our  _sock drawer_ ,” Bitty says again.

“Is that a bad thing?” Jack says nervously, “I mean, I think so. After all, you found it. Apparently, hiding things in sock drawers aren’t as overrated as I thought. I was convinced you’d never go looking for something like that in a sock drawer.”

Bitty closes the box and throws it at Jack. Jack catches it, but he looks very confused, especially when Bitty rummages through the sock drawer once more. Bitty pulls out the box that he just bought and he opens it. He goes down on one knee and he shows the ring to Jack. It’s not the proposal that he expected, but it’s perfect.

“Great minds think alike, Mr. Zimmermann.”

Jack smiles widely and he goes down on one knee as well. He also opens his small ring box.

“You’re right, Mr. Bittle.”

“Yes, by the way, in case that wasn’t clear,” Bitty says happily.

“Yes, also, just to be sure.”


End file.
